David Cush, president and CEO of Virgin America, said in-flight Wi-Fi is a key factor with travelers who book tickets with his airline. "We saw a jump in the number of guests logging on after last year's free Wi-Fi gift," Cush said in a statement, adding he expects another increase this year. "Once people try Wi-Fi at 35,000 feet they rarely go back.”

Delta claims it operates the world's largest fleet of Wi-Fi-enabled airplanes. "Our holiday promotion with Google's Chrome browser team allows us to offer our customers free Wi-Fi as a small token of appreciation," said Tim Mapes, Delta's senior vice president – Marketing, in a press release.

AirTran said it is pleased to offer free Wi-Fi to its passengers over the holidays, the carrier said in its press release.